The Oklahoma Sooners are the favorites in the Big 12. You’d be hard-pressed to find a national or local publication that sees another team ahead of the Sooners in post-spring [autotag]power rankings[/autotag]. While it won’t mean anything until we see these teams on the field, it provides a general indication about how these teams look at this point in the 2022 calendar year. We’re still three and a half months from actual football being played, but this is where we’re at in May of 2022.
Though football is still a few months away, let’s take a look at the most important position on the field and begin our Big 12 quarterback previews with a look at Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders.
One of the teams that will be in contention for the Big 12 championship game in 2022 is the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Coming off a huge win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, the Cowboys bring back the most experienced quarterback in the conference, Spencer Sanders. And in Spencer Sanders lies much of the optimism surrounding Oklahoma State heading into 2022.
A multi-year starter at Oklahoma State, Sanders hasn’t really lit the world on fire. Though he was a four-star quarterback heading to Stillwater, he’s struggled with consistency issues at times leading to erratic play. Like we saw in the Big 12 championship game against Baylor where four interceptions put them in a 21-0 halftime hole before mounting a late comeback that ended just inches away from a go-ahead touchdown in the final seconds.
Then about a month later, he completes one of the great comebacks in college football history in the Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame. Down 21 points in the first half, Sanders led the Cowboys to outscore the Fighting Irish 30-14 the rest of the way. He completed 66% of his passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns in the Cowboys come from behind win.
Against the Sooners in Bedlam last season, Sanders played a good game and was a big reason why the Cowboys were able to knock off the defending Big 12 champion.
There’s definitely evidence that Sanders has another gear he could go to, but is he someone capable of inserting himself into a loaded Heisman or first-round draft pick conversation? Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports thinks so. Fornelli took a look at five veteran quarterbacks that could experience Kenny Pickett-like breakouts. A multi-year starter who hasn’t really broken out but could be poised to shine in 2022.
While (Sam) Hartman and (Sean) Clifford can be considered dual-threats, Sanders is the most dynamic rusher on this list, providing him another avenue to succeed. He’s rushed for 1,565 yards in his three seasons at Oklahoma State, but I include him for his potential growth as a passer. Sanders threw the ball more in 2021 than any other season and saw a dip in his efficiency. His completion rate dipped slightly, while his yards per attempt plummeted to 7.2, and he had the lowest efficiency rating of his career at 133.5. Of course, he also set career-highs in yards and touchdowns and nearly led Oklahoma State to its first Big 12 title since 2011. I don’t know that he’ll ever reach the point where he’s considered a first-round pick by NFL teams, but it’s not insane to believe Sanders can have the kind of season that garners Heisman buzz if he improves as a passer to add to his rushing ability. – Fornelli, CBS Sports
Sanders set a career-high for passing yards in 2021, but as Fornelli mentions his efficiency in the passing game dropped a bit as did his yards per attempt. That can happen when a quarterback recognizes that he has an elite defense on the other side of the ball like Oklahoma State did last season.
When your defense is as good as the Cowboys were in 2021, a quarterback doesn’t feel the need to push the ball downfield or throw into high-risk situations. Hence the drop in yards per attempt and average depth of target (aDot). In 2019, Sanders had an aDot of 10.5. In 2020, it rose to 10.8. In 2021, his aDot fell to 9 yards per attempt according to Pro Football Focus.
Pro Football Focus gave him the highest passing grade of his career in 2021 by more than 10 points compared to his previous career-best grade.
And while his completion percentage might have taken a hit, he isn’t solely to blame for that either. The Oklahoma State Cowboys’ pass catchers had 25 drops in 2021. That was tied for the 18th most drops out of 186 quarterbacks at the FBS level last season. Among FBS quarterbacks with at least 370 dropbacks in 2021, Spencer Sanders suffered the 10th highest drop percentage at 9.5%. That’s going to make life difficult for any quarterback.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys enter the summer with the second-highest win projection among Big 12 teams. Much of that is due to the performance by Sanders at different points in the 2021 season. If he can string together some consistency the Oklahoma State Cowboys will be a dangerous team in the Big 12 despite all of their defensive losses.
[listicle id=62557]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.